Why do we give thanks?

JimiTime

To the Christian posters.

When you give thanks before/after meals, what are you thanking God for? I never like to do things ritualistically, I like to understand why I do things and have just been thinking about this. I understand a Calvanist would see it as everything is done by the will of God, so the fact that you have food is because god has decided that you will have it. What is the general thought on this though?

Also, I often think myself as blessed in my life, yet in prayer am a bit reluctant to thank God for my 'blessings' as I wonder if its a bit arrogant of me? I.E. thinking that God has decided to bless me. Are all blessings bestowed by God? What say yee?

Thanks,
J.

MrPudding

JimiTime wrote: »

To the Christian posters.

When you give thanks before/after meals, what are you thanking God for? I never like to do things ritualistically, I like to understand why I do things and have just been thinking about this. I understand a Calvanist would see it as everything is done by the will of God, so the fact that you have food is because god has decided that you will have it. What is the general thought on this though?

Also, I often think myself as blessed in my life, yet in prayer am a bit reluctant to thank God for my 'blessings' as I wonder if its a bit arrogant of me? I.E. thinking that God has decided to bless me. Are all blessings bestowed by God? What say yee?

Thanks,
J.

I hope you don't mind me responding to this, I will delete it if you prefer, or one of the mods can, but I really wanted to respond to this...

Is it possibly something as simple as being polite and acknowledging what you have received? Personally, if someone give me something, no matter how small, I will thank them for it. Common decency really. I think that most people have a desire to give thanks for that which they receive, pretty much where ever it comes from.

With respect to thanking god for your blessings. How could that be wrong? Surely, as you believe in god and his goodness, even if he did not bless you directly you must believe that he has, at the very least, been responsible for setting the wheels in motion for you to be blessed?

As a kind of outsider, it seems very reasonable to me for you to give thanks to him for your blessings. But then, what do I know:)

MrP

kelly1

Mr P., well answered! You'll make a fine Christian someday! Who knows, maybe you're a new saint in the making? An rough diamond ready to be cut and polished to reveal your inner gem of unspeakable value!

MrPudding

kelly1 wrote: »

Mr P., well answered! You'll make a fine Christian someday! Who knows, maybe you're a new saint in the making? An rough diamond ready to be cut and polished to reveal your inner gem of unspeakable value!

Shush.... you're embarassing me.

MrP

PDN

Great Scott! I agree with something Mr Pudding posted!

:eek:

JimiTime

MrPudding wrote: »

I hope you don't mind me responding to this, I will delete it if you prefer, or one of the mods can, but I really wanted to respond to this...

Once its in Christian context, work away.

Is it possibly something as simple as being polite and acknowledging what you have received? Personally, if someone give me something, no matter how small, I will thank them for it. Common decency really. I think that most people have a desire to give thanks for that which they receive, pretty much where ever it comes from.

Absolutely. Its more the 'God' has blessed me bit I'm hammering out here. I'm not saying its not God, just thinking about it lately. As i said, I don't do things by ritual, but rather have my heart in it and know what it is that I;m doing. It makes it honest and sincere.

With respect to thanking god for your blessings. How could that be wrong? Surely, as you believe in god and his goodness, even if he did not bless you directly you must believe that he has, at the very least, been responsible for setting the wheels in motion for you to be blessed?

i don't necessarily think its wrong. I am of the thinking that if I'm honest and my heart is in the right place, striving for what Christ would want, then ones actions are of small consequence (within reason). I was just looking for further insight.

Do other Christians here think there is creedance in the Calvinist view?

As a kind of outsider, it seems very reasonable to me for you to give thanks to him for your blessings. But then, what do I know:)

MrP

I agree, as i said though, I'm looking to delve a bit deeper into the Why's. Is the general consensus that its an indirect blessing?

E.G. Thank you for the food I eat today.

What am I saying that God has done when i utter these words?
Don't get me wrong guys, I'm not bogged down with this or anything, its just a question I ask that will hopefully enlighten me a little further.

PDN

I am no Calvinist, but I still see God as the source of all the blessings I receive. Therefore I give him thanks.

JimiTime

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Apologies if this is going OT (feel free to delete / ignore) but..

It is generally accepted by the religious that we have free will and that the free will we have allows us to strive for the best possible life (spiritually and / or materially). In that case if the food has been bought with money earned from honest toil then you have earned it yourself so why give thanks for it?

TBH, This is exactly where I don't want this thread to go. Not saying anything about the validity of your question, its just it can bring this off on a tangeant. In a Christian Context this question is valid, but in the way you've put it not so much. Christ gave thanks etc, so we as Christians know its the right thing to do. What are we actually thankful for is the question. You see what I mean?

JimiTime

PDN wrote: »

I am no Calvinist, but I still see God as the source of all the blessings I receive. Therefore I give him thanks.

So you would see it that God has blessed you with, for example, the food you eat this day? My question would be, how has he blessed you? Again, I'm not trying to be contentious, just looking for shall we say, the mechanics of the blessing.

kelly1

JimiTime wrote: »

Do other Christians here think there is creedance in the Calvinist view?

What is the Calvinist view Jimi?

JimiTime wrote: »

I agree, as i said though, I'm looking to delve a bit deeper into the Why's. Is the general consensus that its an indirect blessing?

If you ask for a blessing, how could it be indirect? Surely it can only come from God?

JimiTime wrote: »

E.G. Thank you for the food I eat today.

What am I saying that God has done when i utter these words?

Hasn't God provided the entire universe and all the life we around us. Regardless of evolution or creation, God provided the sun and rain and soil (all matter) which makes it possible to grow food. God provided the people to sow the seeds and harvest the food. He provided those who cook and process it etc, etc.

JimiTime wrote: »

So you would see it that God has blessed you with, for example, the food you eat this day? My question would be, how has he blessed you? Again, I'm not trying to be contentious, just looking for shall we say, the mechanics of the blessing.

It easy to think that God has nothing to do with producing the food we eat but He certainly provided the raw materials (big-bang if you want to go back that far). Doesn't thinking about the wonders of nature fill you with awe of God's providence. The sun, the rain, the soil, the huge variety of delicious foods available to us. We could have been stuck with a small number of horrible tasting foods but no, we have a beautiful variety. There's a lot to thank God for. You could thank evolution but didn't God design evolution?

BrianCalgary

Two things:

God is the source of all creation therefore anything we have comes from Him and He is deserving of our thanks as Mr P so eloquently put.

Secondly it serves as a reminder that He is sovereign and we should be thankful for all we have. As I give thanks at mealtime I also remember all the other blessings He has given me outside of teh food I am about to eat.

JimiTime

kelly1 wrote: »

What is the Calvinist view Jimi?

Wolfsbane can correct me if I'm misrepresenting, but to my knowledge; Calvanists believe that everything that happens is by the will of God. From a child being born down sydrome, to the making of a King. In other words, in the context of my original question, when they give thanks they believe they have food on their table because God wills it so. Thus, its a fairly personal blessing.

That is my understanding of this particular Calvinist view.

If you ask for a blessing, how could it be indirect? Surely it can only come from God?

Maybe 'personal' would be a more accurate description. Are you 'personally' being provided for. I.E. God has thought about you and decided to bless 'you'. You know what I mean, or am I being unclear?

Hasn't God provided the entire universe and all the life we around us.

Absolutely. At the very least, we should thank him for that. Thats the crux of the question really. Is what you say above what we are thanking him for, or is it a personal blessing we are thankful for?

It easy to think that God has nothing to do with producing the food we eat but He certainly provided the raw materials (big-bang if you want to go back that far). Doesn't thinking about the wonders of nature fill you with awe of God's providence. The sun, the rain, the soil, the huge variety of delicious foods available to us. We could have been stuck with a small number of horrible tasting foods but no, we have a beautiful variety. There's a lot to thank God for.

No disputing that. Again, this points away from a personal blessing as such, and to a thank you for the fact that its thanks to hi the food grows in the first place.

Thanks for your insights Noel.

BrianCalgary wrote: »

Two things:

God is the source of all creation therefore anything we have comes from Him and He is deserving of our thanks as Mr P so eloquently put.

I agree.

Secondly it serves as a reminder that He is sovereign and we should be thankful for all we have.

Absolutely agree.

As I give thanks at mealtime I also remember all the other blessings He has given me outside of teh food I am about to eat.

Thats the crux I'm getting at highlighted. That is a very personal statement. So you believe that he has specifically given 'you' blessings personally?

Thanks for your input BC.

Splendour

I too agree with Mr.P on this one. While we're saying grace in our house we also thank God for other things ie. nice day we've had/fun we've had etc...

I don't believe in the Calvanist view that everything comes from God. I believe that certain things like a child born with Downs Syndrome as you mentioned jimi, are because of the fall. God did not create imperfections but when man fell, all of nature fell with him.

BrianCalgary

JimiTime wrote: »

Thats the crux I'm getting at highlighted. That is a very personal statement. So you believe that he has specifically given 'you' blessings personally?

Thanks for your input BC.

Yes I do believe that He has blessed me personally. Far too many to print in this short space. But generally He has blessed me with great friends and family, great relationships with people around the world.

Not to mention the material goods He has provided me with.

I tend to dwell on the relationships as the most important aspects of His blessings.

Saying grace allows me to reflect on all that He has provided to me and my family.

The latest is a wonderful young man who proposed to my daughter on Saturday last.